Ken Duncan

There are just a couple of days left to give your views on proposed changes to the area’s recycling and waste services.

So far more than 1,800 people have taken part in a major consultation, voicing their opinion on efforts to boost the area’s recycling rate and reduce the volume of material sent to landfill.

You can take part and give your views on the package of proposals at http://bit.ly/AshireWasteConsult

A package of changes is being proposed, including reducing the size of non-recyclable bins, increasing each household’s recycling capacity and improving the network of Household Waste Recycling Centres, closing some smaller facilities.

Two options to change kerbside waste collections are proposed as part of the revamped collection system and people are encouraged to share their views with the council on this.

Responses will feed into a new waste strategy being developed, aimed at ensuring the area maximises the environmental, local and financial benefits from the waste it produces as a community.

Aberdeenshire’s recycling rate is 43.5%, but services currently available to residents should allow a recycling rate of over 70%.

Over half of the materials put into local non-recyclable waste bins are actually recyclable through existing services – equating to around 30,000 tonnes of recyclable materials being binned at a cost of £3.5million a year.

Sending waste to landfill costs twice as much as recycling, so not only does maximising the value of a material benefit the environment, it also frees up money for other council services.

Chairman of the council’s Infrastructure Services Committee (ISC), Peter Argyle, said: “Clearly a significant number of people have already given their views and as councillors we will of course take those into account when making what are important decisions about how we all deal with the waste we produce.

“There are however around 118,000 households in Aberdeenshire who will be affected by these changes, so we’d be keen to have as many of their views as possible too.”